Three loins record-breaking feat will stand!

The goals that Jermain Defoe scored for England against Trindad & Tobago last weekend, as well as the record breaking feat of having 3 Pompey players starting an England game for the first time ever looked as though they would be expunged from the record books - but this will not be the case...

Defoe became the first Pompey player since Mark Hateley in 1984 to score for England, before going on to become the first player in almost 80 years to score twice for England - but those goals had looked like being wiped from the record books.

Should that have happened the newly set record of 3 Pompey players starting an England game for the first time ever after David James, Glen Johnson and Defoe were handed starts would have also become void.

Due to the antics of former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who had a liking for making 11 subs in a game, FIFA reduced this amount to 6. England made 7 at the weekend with it claimed at the time that 'special dispensation' had been given to both sides for this.

However FIFA was claiming this was not the case with a FIFA spokesman having said: 'we did not give special dispensation to make up to seven substitutions at the Trinidad and Tobago versus England match.' Whereas an FA spokesman argued otherwise: 'the fact of the matter is the opportunity to use seven substitutions was cleared in advance by FIFA.'

The suggestion was that the game could become void, so goals scored and I would guess caps gained would have been wiped from the record books but thankfully this will not be the case with FIFA saying that a mistake from the match official had been to blame, with a FIFA statement reading: 'as FIFA has received no official protest regarding this match, it shall be considered as an official match.'

It makes you pleased to know that the game is in such safe and capable hands doesn't it...

Comments

the 6+5 rule is just disciminating against players who come from countires without good football leagues - i.e. a comlete load of rubis. This was another load of rubish, as everyone apart from FIFA seemed to know the game was going to have 7 subtitions each - including the FIFA referee, assitent referees and fourth official...

Yep....before the game even the Beeb commentary team made it very very clear that England had received special dispensation for 7 subs. It's little things like that and the whole football politics thing with Jack Warner that really make you wonder about the ability and integrity of FIFA to do their job(s)....